Midnight
by whovianpower
Summary: Midnight, a beautiful world of diamonds and wonder. When the Doctor and Sarah decide to explore the world via shuttle bus, they find themselves in a world of trouble when the knocking on the walls begin. Sarah is MY character.
1. Crusader 50

"Sapphire waterfall?" I asked.  
"Yep," the Doctor said, popping the p. "Wanna go?"  
Donna stared at him across the table.  
"A long bus trip?" Donna said. "Take Sarah with you, I'd rather," she trailed off for a moment and consulted her brochure. "Sun bathing? Sound relaxing."  
"But Donna-"  
"Eh, don't worry, Doctor, I'll go with you," I told him, pushing my hair back. "I promise."  
"Thanks, Sarah," He opened his copy of the brochure. "I can't wait to go,"  
"A little bit excited for a bus trip, right?" I whispered to Donna next to me. She rolled her eyes.  
"You have no idea."  
"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed glancing up at us. I took that opportunity to slip his brochure out of his hands. I forgot to get my own when the TARDIS landed at the resort on Midnight. I flipped to the page about the bus trip. My mouth fell open. I stared at the Doctor.  
"Four hours to get there?" I demanded. "That's eight hours total!" to Donna, I said, "Is it too late to go sunbathing with you?"  
"Yep!" The Doctor said. "You already promised!"  
I huffed, lightly bonking my head on the breakfast table. "I hate promises."  
The Doctor grinned his infectious grin. Donna, who was already laughing at me, laughed harder, and I couldn't help but crack a smile.

* * *

I waited outside the bus entrance for the Doctor, who had decided to call Donna in one last attempt to get her to come. I chuckled lightly as he resorted to begging her.  
"I don't want to see it on me own, four hours is all it takes," he begged. I marched up behind him and punched him playfully on his shoulder.  
"What am I? Chopped liver?" I asked him. He rolled his eyes.  
Donna must have said no again, which is what I expected, because he finally said, "Alright, I give up. Sarah and I'll be back for dinner. We'll try that antigravity restaurant, with bibs."  
"Bibs?" I murmured. "That sounds like something my mom would feed Myka back home. Do I get a say in restaurants?"  
The Doctor ignored me.  
"See you later," he said into the phone. I heard Donna's reply through the phone.  
"Oi, and you two be careful."  
I leaned forward and said into the phone, "Nah, taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight? What could possibly go wrong. Bye, Donna!"  
"B ye!" I heard her reply as I took the phone out of the Doctor's hand and hung it up. He turned to me.  
"Blimey, Americans are rude," he told me. I rolled my eyes.  
"You've said that since the first day we met." I teased. We started walking towards the entrance. "Now, I actually read up on this when we went back to our rooms, and I'm actually excited to go now. You know, the waterfall isn't really sapphire, because sapphire is an aluminum oxide, but the glacier is just compound silica with iron pigmentation." The Doctor stopped.  
"And how do you know that?" he asked. I gave him an innocent smile.  
"There's nothing wrong with memorizing smart sounding sentences from Wikipedia," I told him. "And frankly, I'm surprised that Wikipedia is still around. It is pretty far in the future."  
The Doctor chuckled.

* * *

The Doctor and I sat in the front seats of the shuttle, waiting as more people arrived. The Doctor glanced around the shuttle, while I dug through a small bag I took with me. It held my cell phone, which the Doctor had upgraded recently, a glasses case with my glasses in them (I was wearing contacts), chap stick (Connecticut was cold the last time I was there), some breath mints, and my sister's MP3 Player, which she accidently left at Kristina and my place the last time she visited. I was bored, so I quickly scrolled through her playlist. All there was on the list Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus music. She usually has a variety of music but this is her old one, and there wasn't much on it. I groaned.  
"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked.  
"My sister has a horrible taste in music," I explained, holding up the MP3 player. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but didn't press for more.  
I put her MP3 Player away in time to see a woman wearing an official looking uniform walk up to us with a cart. She handed a pair of head phones to each of us.  
"That's the headphones to channels 1 to 36." She handed another item to each of us. "Modem link for 3D videogames." I was sort of happy about that one, speaking that I love videogames. Then the hostess started piling more stuff on top of us. Apparently, all of it was complimentary. "Complimentary ear plugs. Complimentary slippers. Complimentary juice pack, and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts," she finished.  
"That'll be the peanuts," The Doctor said. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.  
"Enjoy your trip," the hostess said, with a sort of forced smile.  
"Oh, I can't wait! Allons-y!"  
The hostess turned back.  
"I'm sorry?"  
"It's French. For let's go."  
"Fascinating," she said in a tone that said it wasn't fascinating at all. She glanced at me. I nodded and rolled my eyes.  
'I know' I mouthed.  
The hostess seemed to chuckle slightly (the Doctor didn't notice) and moved on.  
An older man, 50-something, sat behind us, and a Hispanic girl sat behind him. The Hostess was starting to pile them up, but the man interrupted at the headphones.  
"No thank you, not for us," he said.  
"Earplugs, please," the girl put in.  
"There you go."  
The man began to talk about the falls. He seemed to know what he was talking about.  
"They call it a Sapphire Waterfall, but there's no such thing. Sapphire is an aluminum oxide, but the glacier is just compound silica with iron pigmentation."  
The Doctor made a confused face and stared at me.  
"Isn't that what you said earlier?" he whispered.  
"Hey, I'm not the only one who does that type of thing." I retorted.  
In the back of the shuttle, the hostess had just finished loading up a married couple. The woman thanked the hostess.  
"Have you got the pillow for my neck?" The man asked the girl.  
"Yes, sir."  
"And the pills?"  
"Yes, all measured out for you," the girl said, digging through a bag. She found them and handed them to the man. "There you go."  
The Doctor turned around to shake hands with the man.  
"Hobbes. Professor Winfold Hobbes."  
_Professor?_ I thought. _Oh, no._  
"Hello, I'm the Doctor."  
"It's my fourteenth time," Hobbes shared.  
"Oh, my- I mean- our," he glanced over at me. "First time."  
"I'm Sarah Carter," I said, shaking his hand too.  
"And I'm Dee Dee. Dee Dee Blasco," the girl put in, not wanting to be left out.  
"Oh, don't bother them," Hobbes snapped at her. My lips pressed tightly together, like they always do when I get annoyed or angry.  
"Hey, I don't mind," I commented to Hobbes. He stared at me. I reached out and shook hands with Dee Dee. "Nice to meet you, Dee Dee," I told her, shaking hands. The Doctor did the same, and we turned around.  
"Where's my water bottle?" I heard the _professor_ demand behind me. My lips pursed.  
Clearly I was not a fan of Hobbes.  
"Don't be silly, come and sit with us," I heard the wife call from the back of the bus. "Look, we get slippers." I craned my head to look, and saw them talking to a boy with really dark hair. He glared at the couple.  
"Jethro, do what your mother says," the man said in a slightly angry tone.  
"I'm sittin' here," Jethro snapped.  
"Oh, he's ashamed of us, but he doesn't mind us paying, does he?" I rolled my eyes. Parents can be so annoying.  
"Oh, don't you two start," the wife said. "Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, peach and Clementine."  
I turned away in time to see the hostess walking to the front of the bus.  
"Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, welcome aboard the Crusader 50. If you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment." The Doctor and I both buckled in. The Hostess stood up front.  
"Doors," she exclaimed, and the doors slid closed. "Shields down," Something slid over the windows. We couldn't see out anymore.  
"I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the waterfall palace."  
"Well, so much for enjoying the view," I whispered to the Doctor. He smiled.  
"Eh, we'll make the most of it."  
"Also, a reminder," the hostess went on. "Midnight has no air, so please do not touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first."  
The Doctor chuckled at that, but for some reason, that comment made my stomach drop.  
The Hostess checked her watch.  
"Now, I will had you over to Driver Joe."  
"Driver Joe at the wheel," came a male voice over the intercom. "There's been a diamond fall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you can see on the map. The journey covers five hundred kliks to the Multifaceted Coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for traveling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll."  
The bus began to shake as the engines started up. I glanced around, watching the walls vibrating slightly.  
"Now, for you entertainment, we have the music channel playing retrovids of Earth classics," the hostess continued, pressing the button on a remote. Small TV screens slid out from the ceiling and a woman appeared singing a song, which personally, I didn't care for much.  
"Also, the latest artistic instillation from Ludovico Klein," she went on, pressing another button.  
"Who's Ludovico Klein?" I asked, generally interested. The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but got cut off but the whistling noise of the art appearing on the walls. The noise continued and was rather annoying.  
"Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat. The Animation Archives."  
"There are no youngsters," I whispered to the Doctor.  
The Hostess pulled down a screen in the front of the shuttle, and a cartoon was projected in it. It happened to be the cartoon I watched as a kid, and actually loathed. Just great.  
"Four hours of fun time," The hostess said over the loud noises that each 'Entertainment' made.  
"Fun time? Ya, right," I murmured, already getting a head ache. I was immediately jealous of Dee Dee, who had kept her earplugs out. I reached for the earplugs which were underneath the pile of things the Hostess had given me, but I ended up knocking them to the floor. I also knocked over the peanut container, which spilled out on the seat. I didn't bother picking it up. I put my fingers to my temples as the noise blared in my ears. "Can't you do something about this?" I asked the Doctor. He nodded and took out his Sonic Screwdriver. It made a small buzz as it activated. He pressed the button on it, and suddenly, everything switched off. The kid show projecting on the screen shut off, the hologram of the art exhibit switched off, and the TV screens faded to black and slid back up into the wall. Moments after the noise shut off, my headache began to subside.  
"Well that's a mercy," Hobbes declared from behind me.  
"Thanks," I whispered to the Doctor. He nodded.  
"I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon." The hostess said, walking down the isle, pressing buttons on her stupid remote. "We seem to have a failure of the entertainment system."  
"Oh," the Doctor moaned, trying to sound upset. Overall he did do a good job of it. He winked at me.  
"But what do we do?" asked the wife at the back of the shuttle.  
"We've got four hours of this?" asked her husband. "Four hours of just sitting here?"  
The Doctor stood up suddenly, making me flinch, and leaned up against his seat.  
"I'll tell you what," the Doctor said. "We'll have to talk to each other instead."  
Everyone on the shuttle including me glanced at each other nervously. The Doctor however, grinned one of is infectious grins.  
I couldn't help it. I grinned too.

**98 kliks later**

Nearly everyone was laughing to pieces as the couple (who's names were Val and Biff) told their story.  
The Doctor and I sat in the seats in front of the couple, looking over the back of the seats, listening to their story, and Hobbes and Dee Dee sat across from them. The blond woman sat in the front, trying to concentrate on her book with all the noise, but failing, and Jethro sat towards the back, rolling his eyes every five seconds as his parents spoke.  
"So Biff said, 'I'm going swimming'," Val was saying.  
"Oh, I was ready. Trunks and everything. Nose plugs." Biff explained.  
"Oh, he had these little nose plugs, you should have seen him," Val added, nearly in tears.  
"So I go marching up to the life guard. And he was a Shamboni, you know with those big foreheads."  
The Doctor pointed at his forehead, signaling that he understood.  
"What's a Shamboni," I wondered to myself. My gaze wandered to Jethro, who looked kind of annoyed by his parents. I don't blame him. Every time my parents tell a story like that…  
Jethro caught my gaze. He smiled a bit at me, and I smiled back.  
The Doctor grabbed my attention by bursting out laughing so hard that he nearly fell over the other side of the seat. I rolled my eyes. He can be more embarrassing than a parent at times.

**150 kliks later**

"I'm just a second year student," Dee Dee told us, handing The Doctor a mug of tea and me a cup of cocoa before grasping her own cup of tea in her hands. "But I wrote a paper on the lost moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, and took me on as researcher just for the holidays." Her smile faded a bit. "Well, he said researcher, but most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying." I was liking Hobbes less and less. "But it's all good experience."  
"And did they ever find it?" the Doctor asked.  
"Find what?" Dee Dee asked confused.  
"The lost moon of Poosh?"  
"No, no, not yet," Dee Dee said, laughing.  
"Well, maybe that'll be your great discovery one day," I told her.  
"Here's to Poosh," The Doctor said holding up his tea.  
"Poosh," Dee Dee and I said at the same time, clinking mugs.

**209 kliks later**

I sat in a seat next to the blond woman (her name was Sky Silvestry) and the Doctor was on her other side. We chatted as we unwrapped our meals.  
"Is it just you two?" Sky asked me. "Or is your mother back at the palace?" My eyebrows furrowed together.  
"What?" The Doctor and I asked at the same time.  
"You aren't his daughter?" she asked me.  
"No I'm not, we're friends." I glanced at the Doctor, who looked about 40. I understood why she thought that.  
"And our friend, Donna, stayed behind at the Lesiure Palace," The Doctor said. "You?"  
"No, it's just me."  
"Oh, I've done plenty of that, traveling on my own." The Doctor said, unwrapping a fork. "I love it! Do what you want, go anywhere." I huffed.  
"I'm trying not to be insulted here," I joked.  
"I'm still getting used to it," Sky told us. "I found myself single rather recently, not by choice."  
"What happened?" The Doctor asked.  
"Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?"  
"Yeah," the Doctor said. "I had a friend who went to a different universe." My eyebrows shot up.  
"Really? Who was it?"  
The Doctor didn't answer me, and busied himself with choosing which piece of meat to eat first.  
"What's this?" Sky asked, looking at her meal for the first time. "Chicken or beef?"  
I ate a piece, but I still couldn't figure it out.  
The Doctor ate one too, then held up another piece on his fork.  
"I think it's both," he said. I stared at my meal.  
Future food is weird.

**251 kliks later**

The Doctor had started to talk with Professor Hobbes, who I didn't like very much, in the front of the shuttle. I didn't get into the conversation, but is stayed next to the Doctor. But when they started talking all technogeeky, that's when I walked back to my seat.  
I opened my bag, in search for something to do. I dug around seeing if there was anything I missed earlier, but only found the same things as before; my cell phone, glasses case, chap stick, breath mints, and my sister's MP3 player. I ate a breath mint and scrolled through the MP3 playlist, hoping for there to be a song that wasn't Bieber or Cyrus. No luck. As I put it away, I wished I had been smart like Sky and brought a book to read. I would kill for an Agatha Christie.  
I finished the breath mint as someone cleared their throat. I looked up and saw Jethro.  
"Can I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the seat next to the window. I nodded and he plopped down.  
"My name's Jethro," he told me. I smiled.  
"Jethro is a nice name," I replied. "My name's Sarah."  
"You have a strange accent," he said, referring to my American accent.  
"Ya, I'm-" I stopped. Were Humans still on Earth? "My family is from America."  
"Cool. I don't think there are many American families in this part of the galaxy," Jethro replied. I smiled and nodded.  
"Sure..."  
"How old are you?" Jethro asked.  
"I'm 20," I told him. "You?"  
"19."  
"Cool. Shouldn't you be in college?"  
"I'm on a holiday. I go back next week. You came with that man, right?" Jethro asked,  
"Yes, I did. That's the Doctor."  
"Is he your father?" I rolled my eyes.  
"Why does everyone think that?" I muttered. To Jethro, I said, "No, he's just a really good friend."  
"Lucky! You came with a friend, but I got stuck with my annoying parents."  
"I can relate on the annoying parents note." Suddenly I noticed Jethro's MP3 Player. "You've got music? What songs do you have?"  
"Oh, the usual." Jethro said. "Lily Cartwright, Andrew Hamilton. Wanna listen?"  
I didn't recognize any of the names he listed. They must have been from the future.  
"It couldn't hurt," I decided. He put an ear bud in his ear and handed me the other one.  
Across the isle where the Doctor and Hobbes were, the Doctor smiled at us.  
So we sat, listening to enjoyable music on Jethro's MP3 Player until Hobbes began his presentation. And the entire time we sat together, Jethro actually smiled a bit.

**299 kliks later**

Hobbes for some reason decided to give a lecture. I wasn't expecting to like it, but I ended up hanging onto every word.  
Jethro and I had been sitting listening to music, when the whole bus started talking about it. We left the front row and moved a few rows back so that Hobbes had room. As soon as he started talking, I was interested. Jethro was absorbed in the lecture as well.  
Hobbes pointed to figures on the board.  
"So this is Midnight," he said. "Bobarded by the sun. Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide." Dee Dee pressed a button and the slide changed. Hobbes went on. "It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."  
"But how do you know?" Jethro asked suddenly. He glanced at me. "I mean, if no one can go outside?"  
"Oh, his imagination, here we go," Val, his mother, grumbled, as if it happened all the time.  
"He's got a point, though," I defended.  
"Exactly!" Hobbes proclaimed. "We look upon this world through glass! Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."  
There was a sudden grinding sound. The shuttle shook hard before the sound of the engine dying echoed through the bus. The bus had stopped.


	2. Midnight Beauty

Everyone glanced around, confused.  
"What the-?" I murmured.  
"We've stopped," Val exclaimed. "Have we stopped?"  
"Are we there?" Biff asked.  
"Can't be, it's too soon," Dee Dee piped up.  
"They don't stop," Hobbes complained. "Crusader vehicles never stop!"  
"If you could just return to your seats," The hostess said, hurrying to the phone in the back. "It's just a small delay."  
"Maybe just a pit stop," Biff suggested.  
"What's going on?" The Hostess voice came from the back. I turned my head and watched her for a moment before looking back to see the (g-d forsaken) _professor _rambling on.  
"-I've been on this expedition fourteen times," Hobbes was saying. "They never stop!"  
"Well evidently we have stopped so there's no point in denying it!" Sky snapped at him. I was with her on that one.  
"We've broken down," Jethro said suddenly. I glanced at him. He had a silly grin on his face.  
"Thanks, Jethro," Val said.  
"In the middle of nowhere."  
"That's enough now, stop it." Biff snapped.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon," The Hostess said walking up the aisle. She pulled on the rope to the screen and it flew up. "We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilize the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats."  
The Doctor a couple rows ahead of me stood up and started walking towards the front. Without saying anything to Jethro, I stood up and followed the Doctor, ignoring Jethro saying my name.  
"No, I'm sorry sir, can you please sit down?" I heard the Hostess saying. The Doctor whipped out his psychic paper, and I read the words, Engine Expert.  
"There you go, engine expert." The Doctor told her, reaching for the door. "Two ticks."  
"Sir, you're not supposed to be in there!"  
The Doctor ignored her as he entered the cabin. I tried to follow, but the Hostess put her arm out.  
"I'm sorry, miss, but please sit down."  
"Sorry," I said. "but I go where the Doctor goes." I ducked under her arm and slipped through the door as it shut.  
The cockpit was small and cramped to the point where I was almost squished against the wall. I had to bend over in an uncomfortable position to move.  
The Doctor noticed me and nodded.  
"Sorry, if you could return to your seats, sir and miss." The driver said, pressing a button on the console.  
"Company insurance. Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So what's the problem, Driver Joe?"  
"We're stabilizing the engine feeds. Won't take long."  
"Er, no," the Doctor contradicted. "because that's the engine feed, that line there, and it's fine. And it's a Micropetrol engine, so stabilizing doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry. I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever." I rolled my eyes at this. "So, what's wrong?"  
"We just stopped," the man in the other chair said. "Look, all systems fine, everything's working, but we're not moving."  
The Doctor slipped his Sonic Screwdriver out of his pocket and turned it on. It buzzed as it did it's readings.  
"Yeah, you're right. No faults." The Doctor commented.  
"Then what's wrong?" I asked. My question went unnoticed.  
"And who are you?" the Doctor asked the other man.  
"Claude. I'm the mechanic." I raised an eyebrow at him. He looked a bit young. He saw me staring, and admitted, "Trainee."  
"Nice to meet you," I said. "I'm Sarah, and that's the Doctor."  
Claude smiled, not seeming to notice my 'foreign' accent. "Hello."  
"I've sent a distress signal," Joe said. "They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed."  
"How long till they get here?"  
"About an hour."  
"Well, since we're waiting, shall we take a look outside?" Claude and Joe whipped their heads around. The Doctor grinned. "You know, lift the screens a bit?"  
"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed, the Hostess's words about the fire exit flashing through my mind. "That's ridiculous!"  
The Doctor flashed me a look.  
"She's right," Joe said. "It's a hundred percent X-Tonic out there. We'd be vaporized!"  
"Nah, those windows are Finitoglass."  
"Finitoglass?" I murmured. "English please?"  
"They'll give you a couple minutes. Go on." He glanced my way, flicking his eyebrows up and down. "Live a little."  
"Well," Joe whispered with a grin, reaching for the lever.  
"You've gotta be kidding me," I groaned. The things the Doctor can convince people to do.  
The shield outside rose up all the way, exposing the diamond land. I squinted against the light. My vision adjusted and I gazed out over the sparkling land. There were beautiful diamond mountains, towering through the sky, which was a bright shade of sapphire. It was plain beautiful.  
"Wow." Joe breathed.  
"You took the words right out of my mouth," I told him, not taking my eyes off the beautiful landscape.  
"Look at those diamonds. Poisoned by the sun. No one can ever touch them."  
"Diamonds are truly a girl's best friend," I said. "Kristina would be so jealous."  
"Joe, you said we took a detour," the Doctor asked.  
"Just about forty kliks to the west."  
"Is this a recognized path?"  
"No, it's a new one. The computer worked it out on automatic."  
"So we're the first," I realized, as if reading the Doctor's mind.  
"This piece of ground," the Doctor continued my sentence. "No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history."  
"This is amazing," I whispered.  
"Yeah," the Doctor agreed.  
"Did you just-" Claude began to say suddenly, gazing off at the distant land. He hesitated. "No, sorry, it's nothing."  
"What did you see?"  
"Just there. That ridge. Like—like a shadow." He voice shook slightly. "just—just for a second."  
"Shadow?" I repeated. My eyes found the ridge.  
"What sort of shadow?" asked the Doctor.  
Suddenly, something started beeping loudly.  
"X-Tonic rising," Joe reported. "Shields down."  
Claude suddenly started to panic.  
"Look—look!" He cried, pointing. "There it is! There it is! Look there!"  
"Where! What was it?"  
My eyes found the ridge that the Doctor couldn't see. Then, right as the shields closed, I saw it. My heart nearly stopped.  
"What was it?" the Doctor asked.  
"Like something shifting." He said. "Something sort of dark-"  
"Like it was running," I finished, heart pounding.  
Claude stared at me. "Yeah, like it was running."  
The Doctor gripped my shoulders and stared at me in the eyes.  
"Running?" I nodded. His eyebrows furrowed. "Running which way?"  
"Towards us," I squeaked, shaken by the shadow.  
"Right, Doctor, Sarah, back to your seats. And—er—not a word. Rescue's on it's way. If you would close the door. Thank you," he said as we stepped out of the cramped cabin. The door slid shut behind us.  
As soon as we stepped out, Sky hurried over to us and bombarded us with questions.  
"What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it? What's wrong?"  
"Oh, just stabilizing. Happens all the time," the Doctor replied calmly.  
"I don't need this." Sky complained. "I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary."  
"Back to your seats," the Hostess broke in. "Thank you,"  
The Hostess went into the cockpit as the Doctor and I sat down.  
"Excuse me, Doctor? Sarah Elizabeth?" Dee Dee said, grabbing my attention. I peered around the Doctor at Dee Dee, who like Sky, wanted answers.  
"Excuse me, but they're Micropetrol engines, aren't they?"  
Before we could answer, Hobbes broke in.  
"Now don't bother the pair," he told her. My lips pursed, but Dee Dee spoke before I could say anything.  
"My father was a mechanic," she shot back. "Micropetrol doesn't stabilize. What does stabilize mean?"  
"Well, a bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out."  
"So it's not the engines?" Hobbes broke it, speaking a little bit too loud.  
"It's just a little pause that's all."  
"It's fine," I told him.  
"How much air have we got?" the _professor _demanded, nearly shouting.  
"Professor, it's fine!"  
"What did he say?" Jethro's mother, Val, called from across the aisle.  
"Nothing!" the Doctor told her.  
"Are we running out of air?" she demanded as the Hostess walked back into the cabin.  
"I was just speculating," the _professor _stuttered, trying to cover up his mistake.  
"Is that right, miss?" Biff demanded to the Hostess. "Are we running out of air?"  
"Is that what the captain said?"  
"If you would all just remain calm," the Hostess begged.  
A few rows back, Jethro caught my eye.  
'Help,' I mouthed. He nodded.  
"How much air have we got?" Val shouted.  
"Mum, just stop it!" Jethro shouted.  
"I assure you everything's under control."  
"Well, it doesn't look like it to me," Biff told her.  
"Well they said it," Val said, nudging her head towards the Doctor and me.  
"Thanks for throwing us under the bus," I murmured. "Now if you'll just leave us in Crusader 50…"  
"Mum, knock it off!" Jethro snapped.  
"It's fine," Dee Dee tried to say. "The air's on a circular filter-"  
"He started it!"  
"Please calm down!"  
"It was only speculation!"  
"Mum, KNOCK IT OFF!"  
They all began to talk at once, none of them thinking that if we WERE running out of air, which we weren't, then that wouldn't be such a good idea.  
"Guys, stop it!" I yelled. "Let Dee Dee talk!"  
"Listen to Dee Dee!" the Doctor tried to say calmly, but his words were drowned out by the noise. "Seriously, now."  
It was no use. The Doctor stood up on his seat.  
"QUIET!" he screamed with his finger in the air. The noise died down instantly, and all eyes were on him.  
"Thank you," the Doctor said. "Now, if you'd all care to listen to my good friend, Dee Dee," he nodded towards her, and she slowly stood.  
"It's just that, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing for ten years."  
"There you go," the Doctor said. "Now I've spoken to the captain, and I can guarantee you, everything's fine."  
Suddenly, there were two sharp knocks on the wall.  
My heart skipped several beats.  
Someone was outside.

* * *

**_Ya, short chapter, but if you've seen 'Midnight', then you'll understand how this is a good place to stop. :)  
More on the way :)_**


	3. Someone's Knocking

**_Sorry for the long wait. Reviews are appreciated.  
Just realized I haven't said this in a while:  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Sarah._**

* * *

"What the-?" I whispered. The Doctor glanced around the cabin, looking for the knocker.  
"What was that?" Val asked.  
"It must be the metal," Hobbes explained. "We're cooling down. It's just settling."  
"Rocks. It could be rocks falling," Dee Dee put in. I glanced at the Doctor for reassurance, but he glanced around the cabin, his eyes focusing intently. Clearly, he thought something was up. I remembered the shadow Claude and I saw. I shivered involuntarily, and the Doctor glanced down at me before looking about again.  
"What I wanna know is how long do we have to sit here?" Biff sniped.  
_Thump!_ Thump!  
The knocking sounded again, this time on the hull of the shuttle. Everyone gasped as a shiver went down my spine.  
"What is that?" Sky cried, starting to sound nervous.  
"There's something out there," I whispered a bit too loud.  
"Don't be ridiculous," Hobbes snapped at me.  
"Like you know what's going on!" I growled, and he stared at me.  
He opened his mouth to respond, but Dee Dee broke in.  
"Like I said, it could be rocks," she said, saving me from punching Hobbes in the nose.  
"We're out in the open," The Hostess said, starting to sound nervous. "Nothing could fall against the sides."  
_Thump! Thump!  
_Gasps sounded throughout the shuttle again  
"Knock, knock," the Doctor murmured.  
"Who's there?" Jethro piped up, a goofy grin on his face.  
"Not helping," I groaned as another shiver ran down my spine.  
"Is there something out there?" Sky asked. "Well? Anyone?"  
_Thump! Thump!_  
I bit my lip.  
"What the hell is making that noise?" Sky cried.  
"I'm sorry, but the light out there is X-Tonic," The _professor _tried to explain. "That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside."  
_Thump! Thump!  
_"Well, then, Einstein, got an explanation for that?" I snapped.  
"Sarah, shut up," the Doctor murmured as the _professor _went red.  
"Well, what the hell is that then?" Sky demanded. I flinched as the Doctor stood up and went to the side of the shuttle bus, taking out his stethoscope and placing it in his ears. I stood up and walked over to him as he pressed the round part against the wall.  
"What are you doing?" I asked the Doctor. He shushed me.  
"Sir, Miss, you two really should get back to your seats," the Hostess said.  
"Not now," I told her, watching the Doctor intently.  
"Hello?" the Doctor whispered.  
_Thump!_ Thump!  
It was quicker now. Everyone gasped.  
"It's moving," Jethro whispered, finally grasping the seriousness of the situation.  
I squealed as the emergency exit on the end of the shuttle rattled quickly. People were starting to panic.  
"It's trying the door!" Val cried out.  
"There is no it," Hobbes insisted. "There's nothing outside, there can't be."  
The emergency exit rattled again.  
_Thump! Thump!  
Thump! Thump!  
_"Now what do you think?" I said to the _professor. _He glared at me.  
"That's the entrance," Val cried, pointing to the rattling door. "Can it get in?"  
"No," Dee Dee put in. "That door's on two hundred weight hydraulics."  
"Stop it," the _professor _snapped. "Don't encourage them."  
"Well, what do you think it is?" Dee Dee snapped back.  
"Doctor, what's happening?" I whispered, clutching his arm.  
"Biff, don't!" Val cried as Biff approached the door.  
"That's not a good idea," I told him.  
"Mr. Cane, better not," the Doctor agreed.  
"It's cast iron, that door," Biff announced. He knocked on the door, as if to prove something.  
_Thump! Thump! Thump!  
_Everyone cried out as whatever it was outside knocked in perfect imitation of Biff.  
"Three times," Val repeated. "Did you hear that?"  
"Everyone heard that," I whispered quietly, fear in my voice.  
"It did it three times," Val finished.  
"It answered," Jethro choked out.  
"It did it _three times_!" Val repeated.  
"Alright, alright, alright, everybody calm down," the Doctor announced, trying to maintain order.  
"No, but it answered," Sky stuttered. "It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him!"  
_Thump! Thump! Thump!  
_"I really must insist that you get back to your seats!" The hostess croaked.  
"Don't just stand there, telling us the rules!" Sky yelled. "You're the hostess! You're supposed to do something!"  
"What can she do?" I asked. "Pull a rainbow rescue shuttle out of her ear? While she's at it, maybe she has the magic school bus in her pocket!"  
Everyone flinched as the Doctor knock loudly on the door four times.  
"How is that supposed to help?" I demanded.  
Suddenly, after a long pause, _Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!  
_"What is it?" Sky shouted, seriously starting to panic now. Eyes flew on her. "What the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop," she stepped away from the group. "Don't just stand there looking at me."  
"Sky, please calm down!" I cried.  
"It's not my fault." she continued shouting. "He started it with his stories!"  
I saw the hostess going to the intercom phone.  
"Calm down!" Dee Dee insisted.  
"And he made it worse!"  
"You're not helping," Val put in.  
"Why didn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me," she cried, voice starting to crack. "Just tell me what the hell it is!"  
"Calm down!" Dee Dee pressed.  
_Thump!  
_"It's coming for me!" Sky cried.  
_Thump!  
_"Oh it's coming for me!"  
_Thump!  
_"It's coming for me!"  
_Thump!  
_"It's coming for me!"  
_Thump!  
_"Oh it's coming for me!" she pressed herself against the wall, nearly in tears, staring up at the ceiling. She screamed.  
"Get out of there!" The Doctor shouted, reaching for her.  
BANG!  
Sparks flew, and the cabin went dark.  
I got thrown around side to side along with the other passengers. I banged into someone I thought was Dee Dee. I heard the Doctor scream my name as I hit my head on a seat, and everything went dark.


End file.
